Former governorship aspirant, Hon. Chille Igbawua, has said that the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, made a mistake leaving the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
He said the former Anambra State governor should have stayed in the ADC and learn some lessons even if he loses the primary election to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Igbawua, who is a member of the ADC Electoral Panel and Adviser to ADC National Chairman, David Mark, stated this when he appeared on Channels Television on Tuesday evening, insisting that there was a level playing ground for all the contestants in the APC primary.
He said in Benue, for instance, Atiku got 55,000 votes, Amaechi scored 30,000, and Hayatu-deen polled 22,000, to show that the playing field was level.
He said, “We started this process of the coalition, and I was there at the beginning, from where we adopted ADC as the political platform.
“Hayatu-deen was part of it from the beginning, but abandoned it later, and then came back later. And some of the issues that we’re hearing is that most people didn’t even know he came back and was in the contest.
“But let me give you an example of Benue, for instance, Atiku polled 55,000 votes, Amaechi polled 30,000, Hayatu-deen polled 22,000.
“This shows that it was a level playing field for all. By the time all the results are out, we will be able to analyze it further.
“But as it stands now, I think that is one of the examples of the playing field being level, and the fact that each of them has won in some places also shows that if they had that reach, and I think you were correct when you said Atiku Abubakar over the years has built a very massive political machinery, it’s a fact.
“But when some people said they would not want to go into contest with Atiku, because he will always win. I said no, he has lost primaries before, so it’s not right to say he will always or maybe he has always won, he has lost it sometimes.
“So I thought it was only proper to stay back and try your luck and see if you didn’t win, you will learn lessons from the loss, and you will know where you went wrong. How better to go against him or some other persons in the future.”
Asked if he thinks Peter Obi is thanking his heavens right now for not staying back to contest against Atiku Abubakar in the ADC primary, he said, “I don’t think he can thank his heavens.
“Where he has gone all the best to him. But I don’t think that he, to me, he has his opinion. I don’t think he made the right choice, as far as I’m concerned.
“When this process started, it was all about saving Nigeria. It was not about personal ambition. Some of us have also sacrificed at our level. I have been involved in the National Assembly, I have been Chief Executive of the Public Complaints Commission of Nigeria, I have contested governorship. This time I said let me allow the field for others behind me to also try.
“So we are making sacrifices, and we thought honestly that if what we’re saying in the beginning that we are out for the interest of Nigerians and not our personal interest, I expected that we should, each of us, be able to make sacrifices at our various levels.
“So when somebody, because of losing out a personal ambition, you know, begins to abandon ship, that’s why I say I don’t think it’s the right decision.”
